Are You Aligned With Christ As Your Cornerstone?
Good Morning Friends,
Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s I listened to Pink Floyd’s, The Wall and Jethro Tull’s, Thick As a Brick, and the Rolling Stones. I was part of a culture that was pushing away from institutional models of power. The Rock and Roll music I listened to called out for people to demonstrate their individualism in the face of institutions that might suppress it. Mainline church institutions have since declined, but I do not think we can blame it on Rock and Roll. Maybe the reason things have changed is that we really are not bricks at all. We are not all alike. We are stones…living stones in need of a good foundation designed to use our individuality. The challenge is that we need to be united and held together on the journey. Now many people feel that their own goodness can be the foundation of their salvation…and yes love covers a multitude of sins but even our goodness is not enough to keep us together. According to the Bible, that’s like building a house on sand. And so Peter in today’s scripture reminds us that Jesus is not just another brick in the wall. He’s not just another path up the summit of salvation. Christ is the cornerstone, the only foundation that will lift us up to bring a little more each day of heaven to earth. Friends, that is the way to build. So, Are You Aligned With Christ As Your Cornerstone?
Scripture: Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:4-10 (NRSV)
“‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Job 38:4-7 (NRSV)
This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Amos 7:7-9 (NRSV)
therefore thus says the Lord God, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: “One who trusts will not panic.”
Isaiah 28:16 (NRSV)
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:1-3 (NRSV)
Message: The Bible has a lot of references to rocks and buildings and measuring things.
So when we look at how we measure up, when we use God’s plumb line of love and faith to build a firm foundation for our life, when we have Christ as the cornerstone… how we use things of worldly value becomes a test of our character…a test of how we measure up to His standard. The plumb line becomes the Word made flesh in the life of Jesus and we have to choose to follow a straight path…we must choose Jesus…all other paths lead to destruction. Jesus is the standard of measurement. Jesus is the tested cornerstone of the building blocks of life. But while Christ is the cornerstone of God’s temple, he’s not the whole building. God is building his house out of you and me. It’s no wonder he calls us stones instead of bricks. Bricks are all the same shape, size, and color. No two stones are alike, however, not even stones cut from the same rock. God delights in this variety. He enjoys bringing us together to become a dazzling mosaic for his glory. Here we as Christians can provide random acts of kindness to counter the random acts of violence in this world. Here the gifts we have been given by God can be used for the benefit of Jews and Gentiles alike. Friends, you may feel like another brick in the wall. At times you may fee thick as a brick. But you’re not a brick. You are a living stone.
Pray we rethink what it means to be a church. Pray we work at rebuilding the called out assembly as living stones built on the Cornerstone of Christ. Pray we serve each other to God’s glory as God has made and has planned for us to do. Pray we realize that unless Christ and His love is the cornerstone or our life our relationships will eventually break down. Pray we discover that our relationship with God is the foundation and cornerstone upon which everything else is built. Pray we realize that someday Christ will come again and the world will be shaken to its very foundation. Pray in preparation that Christ be our solid Rock.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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